FSR January 2023

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CHRISTINE LORUSSO DIREC TOR OF DIGI TAL MARKET ING Firebirds Wood Fired Grill

out experience in res taurants,” she says. “This gives us, as digital marketers, the oppor tunity to apply digital trends to enhance the in-restaurant experience and make a difference across digital channels at the same time.” Lorusso, who’s been on the Firebirds digi tal marketing team for seven years, offers the brand’s recent part nership with curbside pickup platform Fly Buy as an example. The launch progressed in phases over a year, starting with integrating the application into the existing online ordering platform. From there, Firebirds conducted internal tests and gath ered feedback from

team members and operators. After making necessary tweaks, the FlyBuy pickup feature went live, but initially only introduced the fea ture to the brand’s most frequent off-premises customers. Through a gradual rollout pro cess, FlyBuy expanded throughout the system. “We test, test, and test again. We get mul tiple internal depart ments and stakehold ers involved before it’s rolled out,” Lorusso says. “Once we feel con fident in the process, we segment which of our guests will be the first to test a new system and then expand this test, assuming it is successful, until it is live across all locations.”

C hristine Lorusso, director of digi tal marketing for Fire birds Wood Fired Grill, says she’s grateful her company embraces change and is open to the future of digital, “no matter how crazy it might sound today. “Brands have to think ahead and live in the future to be success ful. The digital world changes daily, and our guests expect us to evolve and change with it,” she says. To that end, Firebirds is enhancing its cus tomer relationships by inviting guests to share

details like menu pref erences, dietary restric tions, and dining history. With these data points, the restaurant can cus tomize its outreach, whether through social media, emails, or dine in experiences. While Firebirds may be eager to adopt new technology and strate gies, Lorusso says the brand makes sure it fully understands how new systems will benefit cus tomers before pulling the trigger. “You can do almost anything online these days, but you can only get a full-service, dine

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JANUARY 2023